Buffalo grass(Stenotaphrum secundatum)- a broad leafed grass that grows as a runner and forms a dense mat like coverage, it is preferable for full sun areas but can also handle and successfully grow in dappled shade. Once buffalo grass is established, it needs very little water to maintain itself as long as it is kept reasonably long.

Berea/ Lm Berea (Dactyloctenium austral) – this is a very soft bladed lawn grass that exhibits incredible high tolerance to shade, but is able to grow successfully in both sun and shade. Berea is tolerant of medium levels of traffic

Grass formats:
​
Grass can be bought in the following formats: roll on instant lawn, grass plugs or runners. The speed at which you need to establish a lawn will determine what type of grass format you should use.

Grass runners: this is a piece of grass that has been pulled out of the soil, soil removed and then replanted in your given area, it is often planted in furrows about 20cm apart, this will then have to knit together to form your lawn, this is best done in spring when the grass in actively growing, and the grass will have to regrow there roots to establish, this takes many weeks to establish.

Instant lawn (roll on lawn): squares of roll on lawn, grass sods that has been cut out with roots still in tack, you can put down and will have the instant look of an established lawn, that should settle in in about 6 – 8 weeks.

Buffalo plugs: the plugs are rooted seedlings, in a large tray that contains 200 plugs, we suggest that you plant the plugs 20cm apart, this will then have a coverage of 8 square meters. Planting in this manner should knit you grass together in approximately 3-4 months.

Planting distance of plugs

Rows apart cm

No. of plugs per m²

No. of square metre coverage per 200 plug tray

20

20

25

8

25

25

16

12.5

30

30

11

18

Grass Planting:

Prepare the area: add compost, bone-meal or superphosphate and dig into existing soil, turn soil well and level area, water well to ensure soil is moist before planting. Keep grass moist for the first two weeks, and then water as needed, check soil before watering to ensure grass needs water, a deep watering is better to ensure deeper root growth, rather than shallow watering that will cause the grass to have shallower root penetration. Avoid heavy traffic during the establishment period, remember that roll on lawn is not established until deep watering takes place.

When you do the first mow, cut as high as possible, once the roots is established, you may want to correct any level issues using a fine coverage of lawn dressing, if the depression you are trying to rectify is deeper than 2 cm, rather lift and fill in lawn dressing underneath.
Do not smother lawn with lawn dressing , the blades of grass should stick out above the lawn dressing after application.
​
In drought times mow as high as possible and keep lawn feeding to a minimum as this will encourage lawn to grow too fast which may stress root systems.

March is the month for water, as WaterWise celebrates both World Water Day on 22 March, and National Water Week 2015. On 22 March 1993, World Water Day was declared by the United Nations General Assembly. It is celebrated to encourage how we manage water for the future and to recognise global water issues.